While the development group and the Office of the Deputy Mayor of Planning and Economic Development (DMPED) wanted to see those ambitious plans realized after 2.5 years they appear ready to downsize and focus on a simplified product. According to the WBJ article the project would only acquire a vacant lot next to city land and not any of the structures along Fifth Street. Two hotels would be built that would employ approximately 215 people. Flagships for the hotels are not yet identified but it is likely that Me by Melia is out of the picture.

By simplifying plans the project can hopefully move faster and take dramatic steps to cure the blight that still persists along 5th Street.

Quotes from Jad Donohoe:

“One of the things we really heard from neighbors there, this one block of Fifth Street doesn’t feel like a safe place to be,” Donohoe said. “The District made a significant investment in getting CityVista done, and yet it didn’t feel like it connected well with Chinatown to the south.”

The challenge, he said, is creating “a new entry to the Mount Vernon Triangle area.” The retail plans are still unclear; Donohoe said he wants to get more feedback from neighbors “about to how incorporate ground-floor retail that serves their needs. We think two brand new hotels would be a big step in getting things done,” he said.

Reactions? It seems development, especially residential and retail, has been going bonkers around the city the last few months. So I’m a bit surprised this project needs to be scaled down to this degree. But if the retail component can remain ambitious and everything can unfold more quickly it’s still a net positive.

Comments

Why can’t the buildings along 5th Street be incorporated into this development? Are the owners of these buildings holding out for more money? Is it that the possible tenants in the orginal project have backed out and Donohoe no longer needs these buildings? If development does not happen now that incorporates these buildings, then, when, if ever, will it happen? I live across the street and went to the meetings where we lobbied the ANC to approve this particular project. I understand that times have changed and our economy has taken a hit, but I am quite afraid of having a development that serves to forever stunt any growth in our neighborhood and leaves us undesirable to pedestrians. We HAVE to have ground floor retail, etc. to continue to pull people into the Triangle. Do others agree with me?

In late 2009 it was said the owner of 915 5th Street was a determined holdout. Atleast they actually operate a business out of the townhouse. But we need to make sure the owners of the vacant properties are paying the blighted property or sell to someone willing to develop.

While I’m flexible enough to let go of Me by Melia hotel we need a much better end result than a redux of the Hampton Inn on 6th Street. The Hampton Inn adds almost nothing to the neighborhood other than valets causing some chaos on 6th Street. The Hampton Inn has no retail or interaction with the pedestrian realm.

WBJ posted a followup a few hours later stating DMPED will consider this summer whether to continue with Donohoe or put the project up for RFP again.

A new RFP probably sets everything back another 18+ months. I don’t believe you can’t mandate in a new RFP that a development team acquire adjacent properties. So a new RFP offers no assured improvement on that front. So I think it boils down to 1) is two hotels and retail good enough or do we expect more from this DC owned parcel 2) should a new partner be sought b/c the current group hasn’t done enough to push this forward 3) Should a new RFP be issued purely on principle

The folks at 915 5th Street need to get a reality check. Perhaps they should read what happened to the old Ledo building. The properties on 5th Street are a complete embarrassment, and Louis Rogue needs to go. I cannot believe that the buildings on 5th / Louis are being “historically preserved.” For preservation to work, the buildings can’t already be in shambles. Every time I walk by there with friends, I try to distract them. This is really bad news that I pray will not set development of this key Mount Vernon Triangle area back another 2 years.

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Thais Austin has lived in the Mount Vernon Triangle since 2006 with her dog Davis. She is an active community volunteer with the Mount Vernon Square Neighborhood Association, Mount Vernon Triangle CID, and with the DC Association of REALTORS. She brings to the blog a background in journalism, urban planning, and real estate and development. She is a REALTOR with Long and Foster, officing out of both Logan Circle and Bethesda Gateway locations and can be contacted at thais@lnf.com.